The West

Question 1

What was the purpose of the Transcontinental Railroad?

Answer 1

To make it easier for settlers and visitors to move across the country, reducing travel time from months to days.

It encouraged tourism to the West and facilitated the movement of goods and people.

Question 2

What impact did the Transcontinental Railroad have on land?

Answer 2

It broke up land, granted railroads land in a checkerboard pattern, created new towns, and bypassed others.

This disrupted existing grazing patterns and intersected with inhabited land.

Question 3

What characterized mining in the second half of the 19th century?

Answer 3

Mining became a highly capitalized industry that affected settlement and labor patterns, created cycles of boom and bust, and had environmental impacts.

New industrial technologies required more capital, and miners became workers controlled by companies.

Question 4

How did irrigation systems develop in the West?

Answer 4

Irrigation systems are man-made methods of supplying water to land or crops when natural rainfall isn’t enough

Mormons developed elaborate irrigation systems in Utah, supported by communal economic and social organizations, and the federal government funded irrigation projects.

This encouraged agriculture and further settlement in the West.

Question 5

What was the Homestead Act of 1862?

Answer 5

A federal plan to distribute western lands, granting 160 acres per family under the condition of improving the land.

Speculators exploited loopholes, complicating land ownership issues.

Question 6

Who were the primary groups that moved westward?

Answer 6

Civil War veterans, immigrants (including Scandinavians), and freedmen.

Settlers used various means of transportation including covered wagons and railroads.

Question 7

What was the significance of the term ‘Manifest Destiny’?

Answer 7

It was the belief that it was God’s will for Americans to expand across North America, leading to military actions against Native Americans.

This ideology contributed to the justification of westward expansion and the treatment of Indigenous peoples.

Question 8

What was the outcome of the Sand Creek Massacre in 1864?

Answer 8

The U.S. cavalry attacked a Cheyenne encampment, killing 360 Indians, mostly women and children, despite a white flag of surrender.

This event escalated tensions and led to violent reprisals from Native Americans.

Question 9

What happened at the Battle of Little Bighorn in 1876?

Answer 9

General Custer’s 7th Cavalry was annihilated by Sioux and Cheyenne forces led by Sitting Bull.

Despite their victory, the Native Americans were demonized in the press, leading to increased violence against them.

Question 10

What was the Ghost Dance Movement?

Answer 10

A revitalization movement among Native Americans, claiming a vision of resurrection for all Indians and the disappearance of non-Indians.

It was led by Wovoka and popular among the Lakota Sioux, but was misinterpreted by authorities as a military threat.

Question 11

What was the Dawes General Allotment Act of 1887?

Answer 11

An act that aimed to assimilate Native Americans by allotting them individual plots of land to promote farming.

It resulted in the loss of tribal land and did not account for the needs of the Indigenous peoples.

Question 12

What were the living conditions like in boarding schools for Native American children?

Answer 12

Conditions were segregated and harsh, with children away from home, facing severe punishments and rampant disease.

The experience created a generation of children caught between their tribes and American society.

Question 13

What was the status of Indigenous Americans in the United States after the Dawes Act?

Answer 13

They were considered domestic dependent nations with limited sovereignty.

This status reflects ongoing issues of land rights and self-regulation.

Question 14

What effect did the influx of settlers have on the Plains Indians?

Answer 14

Settlers’ demands for land led to conflicts with Indigenous peoples who were already living on that land.

The introduction of railroads and agriculture disrupted traditional lifestyles and subsistence patterns.

Question 15

Fill in the blank: The _____ was a federal policy aimed at destroying the food supply of Native Americans by exterminating buffalo.

Answer 15

Extermination of the Buffalo

Question 16

True or False: The Ghost Dance Movement was seen as a peaceful expression of cultural identity by the U.S. government.

Answer 16

False

Authorities viewed it as a precursor to military conflict.

Question 17

What was the main reason for the decline of buffalo populations?

Answer 17

Federal policy promoting the extermination of buffalo to undermine the food supply of Native Americans.

The population declined from nearly 15 million to near extinction due to hunting and habitat loss.